Originally Posted by
jeepie
Understood, thanks. But how about not spending one’s points at $.015 each, vs. saving them for transfers where you can get better value? I do appreciate it is a different calculation for everyone.
Totally depends on where you are flying to/from. 88k ANA points r/t for star alliance business class from say Cody, Wyoming to Santorini, Greece is a heck of a deal 99.9% of the time, but if you are flying LAX to Tokyo where you can snag a cheaper business class fare using the points at .0154 plus earn status miles, that might be a good deal too. I guess as a general rule, I would not do a transfer if I was knew I was going to get less than .0154 of value or so from them. Aeroplan also has some good uses, but they block some carriers and also are changing the program in a few years so I wouldn't leave any points sitting there. If there were a transfer bonus to British Airways I would consider transferring some there (I think as high as a 40% bonus has happened), but again you need to know when and when not to use avios and be familiar with aer lingus and iberia options.
Only negative things about ANA would be the inability to book for non family easily, fuel surcharges on alot of carriers (avoidable some of the time), and you have to book 4 days before the flight, so no last minute bookings, and it can take up to ~48 hrs to transfer the points from amex.
If you have access to way more points than you can use that also factors into your calculations, and if you want to chase status, and if you want to learn how to use ANA/iberia/aeroplan points, etc).